‘I have also learned that in order to know the truth of what is spoken, I must be taught by Him who dwells within and gives me counsel about words spoken externally in the ear’ (St Augustine, On the Teacher, 46)
September 2011 News
By
Boarbank’s standards, it has been a
relatively quiet month, with quite a few of the Sisters
away. We have been
getting used to the new Mass translation - one guest
said that it takes six
weeks to form a new habit, and it does seem that,
magically, after six weeks,
we were suddenly all able to say, ‘And with your
spirit’! We are also
benefiting from a complete musical setting of the new
translation provided by
Sr Anne. We
celebrated a significant
birthday of Sr Elizabeth Mary, appropriately on the
Feast of Our Lady’s
Birthday. As we go to press, we are busy preparing for
the next big
celebration, of the 90th Anniversary of the Foundation
of Boarbank, on 21st
September, followed by a concert by the Amabile Choir in
chapel on Friday 23rd
September at 7.30 p.m. A full report of these events
will appear in the next
web news.
Sister Francis arrived from South Africa to
spend a week with us, before going with Sr Eileen to the
Prioresses Meeting at Abbaye
St Martin at Mondaye, close to Bayeux, Normandy, France
on 5th September. It is
always good to meet up with our Sisters and hear their
news and share in joys,
concerns and sorrows. The theme of the meeting was
“Origins and creation” with
some input being given by two of the priests. The
resident Community are
Norbertines, following the Rule of St Augustine, and
they were very welcoming
and hospitable, ensuring the comfort of the Sisters. The
Liturgy was celebrated
beautifully and simply, enabling visitors to join fully
in the Office. There is
extensive renovation continuing on the abbey and
outbuildings. Some of the
Sisters were especially grateful to find that Father
Abbot and two of the
priests spoke English and provided excellent company
when the Sisters joined
them for lunch on the Sunday.
On 16th
September Sr Eileen, Sr Annette and Sr
Ildikó attended a Mass at the Cathedral to
celebrate the fortieth anniversary of
Bishop Michael’s ordination. It was a wonderful
celebration with the Cathedral
well filled and including family and friends of the
Bishop from Larne as well
as Bishop Patrick, his predecessor and Fr Paul Graham of
the Austin Friars.
Bishop Seamus Cunningham of Hexham and Newcastle Diocese
preached an excellent
sermon on the priesthood. There were refreshments in the
Social Centre
afterwards and the chance to meet friends old and new.
We offer him our warmest
congratulations.
The
Guest House has been busy with many of our
regular August visitors, including the Blackburne
family, two of whom returned
fresh from World Youth Day, full of excitement about the
experience. (Other
Boarbank ‘representatives’ at World Youth Day included
Sr Céline, Simon Pierre
and Anne-Gaëlle.) Fr Chris took one of the guests
and one of the staff up in
his plane. Other visitors included Jonathan and
Agnieszka, on their honeymoon -
we wish them every blessing for a long and happy life
together.
 |
 |
We were
pleased to welcome Sr Annette from New
Zealand for a rest before she headed to Spain to
undertake the walk to Santiago
de Compostella. A
friend of Fr Dixie’s,
she enjoyed her visit to the Lake District very much and
was lovely company.
On
26th August a very lively group of South
African ladies came for the weekend to the guesthouse,
who were members of a
Christian prayer group formed to support each other in
living Christian values
in their families and ordinary life. They made a unique
contribution to our
celebrations of the Feast of St Augustine at Sunday
Mass, with their harmonious
singing. They also enlivened Sunday lunch in the Guest
House, getting all the
other guests to join in! The community welcomed their
own guests to continue
the celebrations of the feast in the Dining Room.
On 6th
September the teaching staff from
Eaglesfield Paddle School, an Anglican Primary in
Cockermouth, led by their
headmaster, Mr Rod Coy, came to visit. Sr Anne led a
session of questions and
answers with Sr Silvana and Florence, who then took them
on a tour of the
house. After a buffet lunch and some free time, Sister
Margaret gave a talk on
love and listening, which led to a very interesting
discussion about helping
children to value silence and to pray. They finished the
day by joining us for
an early Vespers. On 9th September Sr Margaret continued
the schools connection
with a talk to a conference of the North Western
Diocesan Education Advisers,
on the theme of ‘How is Jesus Christ born today?’
Fr Dixie
went to Rome on 29th August for a week
to act as chaplain to the eighth conference of Matercare
International, on the
dignity of mothers and obstretricians, with the title,
‘Who on earth cares?’
Over a hundred doctors from all over the world attended,
one describing it as
‘the best conference she had ever attended.’ The
conference was mentioned by
the Pope in his audience and was featured in a broadcast
by EWTN, so we hope
and pray that this will help to secure due recognition
and support for the
valuable work of these very dedicated people in keeping
mothers in the poorest
parts of the world alive and healthy.
The Guest
House was packed full for the Thinking Scripture week from 10th-17th
September - well over thirty people attended in all. As
in February, Fr Dixie
explored the Psalms of Lamentation, Sr Margaret the
Psalms of Praise and Dr
Geoffrey Turner the Royal Psalms; the usual mix of
prayer and cultural and
social events complemented the study. The group were
very appreciative and
seemed to enjoy themselves enormously and also learn
something! They were
particularly grateful for the way they were looked after
by the staff at
Boarbank. For a full report see the Thinking Scripture page.
 |
 |
 |
 |
We
are sad to report the death of Mary Stott,
on September.
Mary had been visiting
Boarbank since she came with her parents as a girl. She,
her husband Frank, and
daughter, Carol, had been regular visitors to the Guest
House over the years,
and four years ago, after Frank’s death, Mary moved into
Marymount as a
resident, becoming a good friend to several of the other
patients. Mary’s body
was received into Church on the evening of the 15th
September, Our Lady of
Sorrows, and the funeral took place in the chapel the
next day, with Fr Gooden
presiding and Carol giving a reflection, both humorous
and honest. The number
of staff who attended her funeral was a further
testimony to her gentle and
kindly presence. May she rest in peace.
 |
 |
Future Events
On 21st
September we will celebrate the 90th Anniversary of our
Foundation, with Mass
at 11 a.m. in the chapel. There will be a celebratory
concert, also in the
chapel, at 7.30 p.m. on Friday 23rd September, with the
Amabile Choir.
There are
still places for the Health and Salvation
week on Ethical Dilemmas from
14th-19th
November (for
more see the Events page). For
more
information or bookings, contact Sr Margaret@Boarbank.
We are also taking bookings for Vision in Education, a week for Catholic schoolteachers and those who teach in Catholic schools, from 13th-18th February 2012, and for our annual Lenten weekend for lecturers in Higher Education, Time to Reflect, 9th-11th March 2012. (for more see the Events page). For more information or bookings, contact Sr Margaret@Boarbank.
Previous
News
Pages
February 2011
January 2011
November / December 2010
July / August / September 2010
December 2008